The SitePoint Forums have moved.

You can now find them here.
This forum is now closed to new posts, but you can browse existing content.
You can find out more information about the move and how to open a new account (if necessary) here.
If you get stuck you can get support by emailing forums@sitepoint.com

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Color is a subjective choice. Everyone's idea of a good color scheme will be different. Look around at some different sites. Go to www.coolhomepages.com and look at some of their sites. I think they have a "color" catagory but if not just look at several different catagories and see if you like any of the colors.

A good rule to follow is to keep warm colors together (reds, yellows and oranges) together and cool colors (blues, violets, and greens) together. Black and White aren't true colors but the absence and presence of all colors in light respectively so they can be used anywhere. Most Professional sites you see use blues and grays on a white background. If you want to use a black background reds, yellows and greens work well.

If you want some good professional color combinations go to your local paint store and look at the color cards for the different colors. If you scan in a card and use 3 or 4 shades from it you will have a good combo. If you want several different hues then look in the books they have that combine color schemes.

Your choice of colors depends highly on your personal preference, the subject of your site and the target audience.

If you want to see a list of web safe color schemes try downloading the trial of Macromedia Dreamweaver from www.macromedia.com. Once you load the program go to the "Command" pull down menu and select "Set Color Scheme..."

I found a good book by Lynda Weinmann 'Coloring Web Graphics.2'. It has an overview of color techniques, it explains how colors should be used together and it has _lots_ of swatches/color schemes that you can use. It comes with a CD with some backgrounds and misc. stuff on it. If you get a chance go check it out a a local bookstore, its a good book.

I did a site last week and used a blue background (00 00 CC) and gray text. It is for a Model "A" Ford club. It contains a list of future activities and an application. Fortunately I printed these out (as many members will) when I finished. The pages looked great but printed with a "washed-out" appearance. So, I changed it so it looks okay and also prints clearly. Keep the users ultimate use in mind as you select your colors.